Niblett's Bluff in the War Between the States by Michael Dan Jones

This is the history of General Alfred Mouton's regiment, the 18th Louisiana Infantry, which he led throughout the War for Southern Independence, from Shiloh to Mansfield. Click on image for more information.

Confederate Guards Response Battalion

History of the one of the hardest fighting Louisiana units during the War for Southern Independence.

1st Louisiana Zouaves

This is the story of one of the most unique and famed Louisiana units in the War for Southern Independence, the 1st Louisiana Zouaves . Made up largely of foreigners from many countries, the men wore the gaudy French Zouave uniform and fought with a fierce determination for the new Southern Republic.

Dick Dowling and the Jefferson Davis Guard

This is the story of one of the most famous and celebrated Confederate units. Click on image for details.

Confederate States Rangers of the 10th Louisiana Infantry

Company K in the War for Southern Independence

Lt. Col. King Bryan of Hood's Texas Brigade

Freedom Fighter for Texas and Southern Independence

The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou by Michael Dan Jones

This is a concise history of the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, Mississippi from December 26-29, 1862. Also covered are the preliminary cavalry raids of generals Earl Van Dorn and Nathan Bedford Forrest. The book contains maps, photographs and illustrations, bibliography and index.

9th Battalion Louisiana Infantry

This is the history of the 9th Battalion Louisiana Infantry which fought at the Battle of Baton Rouge and the Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana in the War for Southern Independence. The unit took part in the famous charge of Allen's Brigade at Baton Rouge. The men of the unit were fighting in defense of their own home area since most were from East Baton Rouge and nearby parishes. Click on image for more information.

Mouton's Charge at the Battle of Mansfield and the Red River Campaign

This is the story of the famous attack at the Battle of Mansfield, La., April 8, 1864, led by Brig. Gen. Alfred Mouton.

The Vicksburg 28th Louisiana Infantry

Click picture for more information.

The Tiger Rifles: The Making of a Louisiana Legend

The Toughest Fighting Men in the Confederate Army

The Battle of Calcasieu Pass

A history of the May 6, 1864 battle in Southwest Louisiana between two Union gunboats and a diverse group of Confedrates. Click photo for more information.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

'Free State of Jones' not free of historical inaccuracies, Southeastern professor asserts

HAMMOND – The soon-to-be
released movie “The Free State of Jones” is influenced more by the
Hollywood-New York mindset and not on historical records, according to a
Southeastern Louisiana University history professor.
The movie tells the story of former Confederate
soldier purportedly turned Union sympathizer Newton Knight – played by Matthew
McConaughey – who led a band of followers, crossed the color line to marry a
former slave, and spawned a community of like-minded individuals in Jones
County, located in southeast Mississippi. The movie is based on a book by
historian Victoria Bynum, explained Samuel C. Hyde Jr., a specialist in Deep
South history and director of the university’s Center for Southeast Louisiana
Studies.
“According to some, Knight heroically defied the
Confederacy sustaining the cause of the Union in Mississippi, one of the most
rebellious states, before courageously crossing the color line to marry a
former slave,” said Hyde. “Thanks to a sympathetic New Orleans newspaperman and
a 1935 biography written by Knight’s son, he was seen as a modern day Robin
Hood, delivering the poor from oppression and facing down evil.”
In 1943, journalist James Street of Jones County wrote
the story “Tap Roots,” which was made into a film designed to glorify the
Knight myth and serve as an antidote for “Gone with the Wind” style nostalgia,
Hyde added.
“It was not until 1951, when Newt’s own grandniece
published ‘The Echo of the Black Horn,’ that the other interpretation of Knight
became more widespread,” Hyde said. “In 1984 historian Rudy Leverett published
a scholarly interpretation of the Jones County saga that proved similarly
critical of Knight and company.”
According to Hyde, the revised version of Knight
revealed evidence indicating that he was a deserter, murderer, horse thief and
bigamist.
“He maintained simultaneous relationships with a white
woman and a black woman, and there is compelling evidence that he fathered
children with a daughter of his black wife from a previous marriage,” Hyde
said.
He said trying to define the real Newton Knight is
both simple and complex.
“He is both,” Hyde explained. “He did desert the
Confederate army after he had willingly volunteered. He then defied Confederate
authorities who sought to press him and some of his neighbors back into a
starved existence of bare feet and ragged clothing which thousands of other
Mississippians grimly endured and fought courageously despite appalling
deprivation. It is also true that he murdered his opponents, defied racial
mores and was a bigamist.”
But were his actions for love of the Union, as the
film suggests? Hyde is skeptical.
With the exception of a couple of reports focusing on the activities of
deserters in the area, Hyde said, there is little evidence to dispute that
Knight most likely would have resisted the Union with the same vigor if they
sought to press him into service or seize his crops.
He was certainly a man who took care of his own, Hyde
said, and preferred to be left alone like thousands of other fiercely
independent piney woods farmers across the rural South.
“Whatever position you take on Newton Knight, if you
want to know the true man and the Jones County story, study the historical
record,” Hyde said. “In this case, don’t look for it in this film from
Hollywood.”

- See more at:
http://www.southeastern.edu/news_media/news_releases/2016/june/hyde_free_state_jones.html#sthash.gySgac9a.dpuf